A Market for Nature-Based Climate Solutions

 

By Claire Oei

Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions

A recent landmark report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned of the widespread, rapid, and intensifying impacts of climate change. Echoing the report's findings, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the report a “code red for humanity”.

Although most countries have signed up to the Paris Climate Agreement, a pact that aims to keep the rise in global temperatures well below 2°C this century and to pursue efforts to keep it under 1.5°C, the IPCC report predicts that neither target will be met unless deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions take place in the coming decades. The window of opportunity to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goal continues to shrink every year without substantive action.

One such approach to mitigating the impacts of climate change is to develop and deploy nature-based climate solutions (NCS). These are climate mitigation technologies that harness natural processes to reduce or remove greenhouse gases.

Studies have shown that NCS can provide over a third of the cost-effective climate mitigation needed worldwide to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and keep global temperatures below 2°C. NCS provide an immediate and widely available option for climate mitigation, particularly in Southeast Asia which has vast rainforests and dense stocks of mangroves and seagrass. Yet, despite their potential, NCS remain undervalued as a credible mitigation option.

To lead the way in the research and development of NCS strategies, NUS established the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions (CNCS) in 2020. Helmed by Prof Koh Lian Pin, the Centre takes an interdisciplinary, systems approach aimed at the effective discovery and delivery of nature-based climate solutions and brings together researchers from across different disciplines to pool resources and expertise. In doing so the centre works towards developing policy-relevant science to inform nature-based climate solutions that are scientifically sound, economically feasible and socially acceptable.

Prof Koh, who has an established career as a conservationist, aims to produce data-driven, policy-relevant science on nature-based climate solutions that address knowledge gaps, build capacity and deliver pragmatic solutions and innovations. He hopes that by producing evidence-based, interdisciplinary, policy-relevant science and effectively communicating our science, we can empower society and its leaders to respond appropriately and decisively to climate challenges and new opportunities. 

In particular, Prof. Koh is driving work across five research areas with a strategic focus on Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region. The first is to understand the impacts of climate change on Singapore’s economy, environment and society. The second is focused on identifying solutions, to understand the extent to which nature-based solutions can reduce carbon emissions, remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and increase our climate resilience. Thirdly, to understand the economic, societal, policy and political barriers to the uptake of nature-based solutions and the ways by which we could potentially overcome these barriers. The fourth is to understand what solutions to prioritize, where to invest and how to prioritise actions to achieve the biggest impact. Finally, how to leverage technology to improve the credibility and integrity of nature-based solutions, reduce the costs of implementation and facilitate science communication, education and outreach.

To meet the ambitious climate targets being pursued by countries and businesses around the world, technology solutions will need to be supplemented with carbon offsetting strategies.

The benefits of nature-based climate solutions present exciting opportunities for the public and private sectors to meet their climate goals, invest in carbon finance and contribute to addressing the impacts of climate change. Indeed, with increasing support and interest from institutions such as the World Bank, the transacted volume of nature-based carbon credits in the voluntary carbon market grew by over 250% between 2016 to 2018. Global demand for nature-based carbon credits is outpacing their supply, due partly to gaps in the knowledge needed to inform and prioritize investment decisions.

By producing evidence-based, interdisciplinary, policy-relevant science and effectively communicating our science, we can empower society and its leaders to respond appropriately and decisively to climate challenges and new opportunities
CNCSfeature

Recent research from CNCS has produced a global carbon prospecting map that identifies where in the world we can invest in forest protection to avoid carbon emissions. Much of the potential lies in Southeast Asia and South America. In fact, Indonesia and Malaysia are among the top five countries in the world where the most emissions can be avoided by protecting their forests.

In addition, the research showed that the financial return on investment (ROI) from these forest conservation projects can be quite substantial. Based on the prevailing carbon price of US$5.8 per tonne of CO2, it was found that the ROI could amount to a profit of US$46 billion a year. The study looked at the three tropical forest regions in the world – the Americas, Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Of the three, the Asia Pacific has the highest concentration of most profitable carbon projects, with an ROI of close to USD 25 billion, potentially being generated every year, for the next 30 years. Indonesia alone can generate USD 10 billion. These results indicate that forest protection can be an economically viable nature-based solution and highlights the potential for forest protection as a key strategy in climate change mitigation.

Moving forward, CNCS is pursing research on the quantification of nature-based solution co-benefits. They are also investigating blue carbon, and in valuing biodiversity in nature-based solutions and urban sustainability.

Claire-Oei
Ms Clare Oei is a Manager at the Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions, NUS Science. Her research focuses on environmental governance and policy.

Contact


CNCS Contact
P: (+65) 6601 6538
cncs@nus.edu.sg

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